out tickets at the pie-throwing booth. I have to admit, I was tempted to throw a pie at Jason, but then I keep thinking of all the laundry poor Sage would have to do.”
“The carnival is growing,” Amy agreed absently, trying not to look too distracted. “My class is almost twice the size it was last year.”
“And yoga class is full,” Becca agreed.
Amy nodded. She and Layla and Becca took yoga together—or they used to. Now Becca didn’t do much and it was just Layla and Amy, but they had other friends in class. It was always a fun time. Amy wasn’t even mad that Becca had bailed on the classes—she was too envious of Becca’s pregnancy. Her friend had gained weight with the baby, but oh man, was she glowing. And her husband positively hovered over her, as if she were made of fragile glass.
Amy’s biological clock had definitely started ticking. She pictured herself with a baby in her arms, Caleb hovering protectively over her, and sighed. That was further out in the future. She’d fought so hard for her “freedom” that she suspected Caleb didn’t even have marriage on his radar. Not that she was dying to get married again. It was just . . . she knew it’d be okay if it was with Caleb.
He was her happily ever after, ring or not.
A big, heavy arm slung over her shoulder. “I didn’t know you and my brother were into role-play. That’s kinky.”
Amy squirmed out from under Jack’s heavy arm and poked him in the side. “Can you keep it down? There are children here!”
“Sorry.” Jack’s grin told her he wasn’t all that sorry. Incorrigible brat of a man that he was, Amy couldn’t help but smile back. “Where’s Santa?”
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Amy crossed her arms over her chest, shifting against the uncomfortable duct-taped bra that kept her breasts from being too prominent in the costume. “He’s supposed to meet me here.”
Hank coughed. His face turned red, and he pounded on his chest.
Becca turned and gave him a little push. “Why don’t you go give Libby some more tickets? You know she’s probably already gone through the ones she has.”
He nodded, disappearing into the crowd.
Becca just shook her head, smiling. “Libby swore she’s going to win the biggest prize the games give away.”
“If anyone can, it’s her,” Amy replied, watching as Jack wove away into the crowd as well, disappearing once more. With his hat on and from a distance, he looked heartbreakingly like her Caleb. But . . . Caleb wouldn’t be here in jeans and plaid and wearing a cowboy hat. He was supposed to be here as Santa. She bit her lip and looked at her phone again. No texts. No calls. No word at all. “I’m worried, Becca. I haven’t seen or heard from Caleb all afternoon.”
“Oh, honey. I’m sure he’s on his way.” Becca rubbed her belly absently. “Maybe go look for him? He might not have realized where Santa’s Workshop was being held at. Maybe he took a wrong turn when he got to the carnival.”
“But it’s in the same place that we were at last year,” Amy said, bewildered. “He knows where this is. Why would he get lost?”
“You know men.” Becca shrugged. “I’m gonna go find myself a seat.”
Amy anxiously looked at the forming line, at Miss Lindsey, the new fourth-grade teacher, who was manning the camera. She didn’t look worried at all—in fact, she looked excited for some reason. Didn’t she realize they had no Santa? “I’m going to go look around real quick,” she told Miss Lindsey. “I’ll be right back.”
“Go on,” Miss Lindsey said. “I’m just going to fiddle with my camera.” And she giggled.
Perhaps Miss Lindsey had been hitting some holiday punch too hard, Amy thought sourly as she headed down one of the crowded halls. It was filled with parents and teachers and children of all ages, and Christmas decorations dripped from every surface possible. “White Christmas” played over the loudspeakers, and in the distance, “The Bunny Hop” began to play, a sign that the Cake Walk was in full swing. Gosh, where was Caleb? She was getting so worried. It wasn’t like him to just not call.
Her heart hammered. There was fresh snow on the ground. Surely he hadn’t gotten into an accident, had he?
Jack passed by again, talking to her friend Layla. Amy grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. “Jack, I’m worried. Caleb hasn’t called and he’s about to be